King Tongue Review: Like a Wrecking Ball

The
Good

Pulling banana helicopters out of the air with your tongue has never been so much fun

The
Bad

Game Center achievement notifications can mess you up sometimes

Momentum-based movement makes avoiding hazards kind of difficult

King Tongue is another one of those games that ends up being a lot more entertaining than its screen shots make it look. Not to say it’s a bad looking game but you really have to see it in motion – or even better, play it – in order to get what all the fuss is about.

Believe me though, it earns the fussing.

There’s a simple plot involving bananas declaring war on monkeys that’s mentioned on the game’s description page, but it’s just a basic backdrop more than anything. It’s not even really alluded to in the game itself aside from the fact that all the enemies are bananas. Still, it’s a goofy premise that fits the cartoony visuals and is a decent enough excuse to start knocking some banana heads together.

After the straightforward tutorial that covers the basics of latching onto things with your tongue (tap the screen), letting go (tap the screen again), and using your super ability (tap the screen with two fingers) it’s time to get to squashing some angry yellow fruit. Although the controls are simple, there’s plenty of challenge to be found after the first few levels thanks to the shapes of each level and the various groups of enemies you have to deal with. That and your momentum plays a big part in how quickly you can dispatch the baddies.

That’s what I enjoy most about King Tongue: it’s super simple to control, but it’s tricky to keep everything under control. It didn’t take too long for me to get used to everything, but it can be so much fun to fling yourself around each level. You can grab enemies with your tongue and pull straight into them to knock them for a loop, or use your trajectory and momentum to whip them around and fling them into a wall. Hitting them hard enough can even send them careening into other evil bananas and take out several at a time. It can sometimes be a bit tricky to avoid the slow moving bazooka shells that the bananas like to fire (because you’re usually moving so fast you won’t be able to course-correct in time), but the only real penalty for getting hit is starting the level over.

The different enemy types that are introduced can also make things interesting. For example, the Super Bananas or whatever they’re called have a tendency to defend against a direct attack, so you’re better off trying to swing them into walls. There are also a few different playable characters to unlock as you complete the different level sets, and they each have their own special ability that can affect enemies in different ways – though I still kind of prefer the default red guy’s “blow up everything in range” attack most.

King Tongue is the sort of wacky, simple, challenging action-platformer that pretty much hits all the right notes. If you’re looking for something fun that’s great to play in short bursts or long stretches, and rewards player skill (though not to a ridiculous degree like intentionally punishing games), King Tongue is well worth a play.